Monday, November 6, 2017

Vote For the Toy of the Year!

Are you ready to doll up your hair, get out a tiny red carpet, and start the imaginary Paparazzi's camera bulbs popping?

The Toy Industry Association has recently announced the finalists for the 2018 Toy of the Year Awards. There are a number of categories, including categories new for this year, including Action Figure of the Year, Doll of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Vehicle of the Year.

Toys are nominated by companies, and there is big business to be had in winning one of these awards, so the companies are duking it out. This year’s finalists were selected from 700 nominees submitted by more than 250 companies of all sizes. They introduced a more rigorous and transparent judging method this year, with 25 judges, including toy and play experts, retailers, academics, and journalists, reviewing and ranking products in specific categories relevant to their areas of expertise. The judges then participated in a live discussion to debate any categories that did not draw an undisputed roster of finalists during the judging period. They considered each product’s creativity, originality and innovation; design and promotion; excellence; and marketplace acceptance before narrowing the field to the slate of finalists.

We have one of the toys nominated! Still working on building our Disney Castle!

The winners in each of the 14 categories and the coveted “Toy of the Year” will be selected based on votes from mass and specialty toy retailers, media, TIA members, and consumers. The “People’s Choice” award winner will be selected solely by consumer votes.

That's right, you have a vote in this! to vote, go to http://www.toyawards.org and cast your vote by January 15, 2018. The winners will be announced in February at a live gala kicking off Toy Week in New York.

More information about the TOTY voting and selection process can be found in the “About the Awards” section of www.ToyAwards.org.

Here's the full list of categories and the nominees!

I've linked each one to their Amazon Page. Please note that the links are affiliate links, so if you end up buying one of these toys from this link, I will make a small commission-- usually a few pennies on the dollar. It helps keep the lights on and me in lattes. But please, feel no obligation to purchase, unless your kid is dying for that particular toy, in which, Be My Guest!